President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a tariff on Apple for iPhones not made in the U.S., putting pressure on the tech giant to return manufacturing to America.
Analysts said making iPhones entirely in the U.S. would take years to shift production and more than double the cost for American consumers.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said that shifting production to the U.S. would take five to 10 years and drive-up costs to about $3,500.
“We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the US is a fairy tale that is not feasible,” Ives wrote in a note on Friday.
TRUMP THREATENS 25% TARIFF ON IPHONES, 50% TARIFF ON EU GOODS AMID TRADE TENSIONS
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple’s latest and most advanced smartphones, cost about $1,000 and $1,200, respectively.
Trump warned that if iPhones are not manufactured in the U.S., they will face a duty of at least 25%.
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“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”
Trump’s threat came after CEO Tim Cook said in May that over 50% of the iPhones produced that are meant to be sold in the U.S. are currently coming from India to evade the tariffs imposed on China.
But iPhone production in India could ramp up to as much as 60% to 65% by this fall, Ives said.
“With Cook being 10% politician and 90% CEO (maybe now it’s 25%/75%), we believe AAPL will continue to navigate this complex tariff situation in a game of negotiations, especially heading into iPhone 17 production this Fall,” he added.
Trump’s tariff threat against Apple comes after he met with Cook at the White House on Wednesday.
Apple announced in February that it was committing $500 billion to the U.S. economy. It will involve building an advanced AI server manufacturing factory near Houston, as well as doubling the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 203.92 | +3.29 | +1.64% |
The tech giant also plans to establish an Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, as well as hire 20,000 new employees with focuses on research and development, silicon engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
FOX Business’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report
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